Search form

College Planning

Planning at Thomas Nelson Community College is built around the concept of institutional effectiveness. Institutional Effectiveness is a systematic, evidence-based process for setting goals and outcomes for the institution, its academic programs, and its essential units, and evaluating the extent to which it is achieving those goals. The process consists of two primary cycles – a five-year cycle of mission review and strategic plan development, and an annual cycle of evaluation and review of outcomes and indicator data from across the College. The components of this process, visualized below, allow the College to evaluate its effectiveness in meeting its mission in a manner that is data-informed, comprehensive, and systematic.

The ultimate purpose of these planning and assessment efforts is to facilitate continuous improvement of the College’s programs and services and further the mission of the institution.

Strategic Planning

The College’s current strategic plan, Focus 2020, was established in 2015 and outlines the three most critical areas of focus for Thomas Nelson for the 2015-2020 timeframe:

Improve the overall success of students

Strengthen partnerships with the Peninsula community

Enhance the College’s capacity for excellence

Additional details regarding the development of Focus 2020, as well as the more specific objectives the College seeks to achieve by 2020, can be found in the full Focus 2020 planning document.

Annual Planning and Outcomes Assessment

For each year of the Focus 2020 plan, the College will commit to the achievement of specific, measureable outcomes that are organized under the framework of the strategic plan and its three goals. Outcomes and results to-date for each year of the Focus 2020 strategic plan can be found in the documents below:

In addition to advancing Thomas Nelson relative to Focus 2020, these outcomes also support the efforts of the Virginia Community College System and its six-year strategic plan, Complete 2021.

Summary of Achievements from TNCC 2015: Shaping Our Future

Prior to adoption of Focus 2020, the College’s annual planning and assessment efforts occurred under the framework of TNCC 2015: Shaping Our Future. That former strategic plan guided the work of the institution from 2010 through 2015. A summary of the College’s achievements during that time period can be accessed via the link below:

Virginia's Community Colleges

Thomas Nelson Community College is part of Virginia's Community Colleges, a statewide system of community colleges, and serves the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg, and the counties of James City and York.